When BC's new Minister of Children and Family Development, Christy Clark, was caught on camera by CBC and asked how she will approach her new ministry, she said "The choice is between continuing with the plan we have, which is a good plan and where people's expectations will be met, or abandoning the plan and leaving the system to chaos, and frankly I don't think that is an acceptable outcome. I don't think that would benefit a single child or a single adult with developmental disabilities in this province." She had an alternative; she could have said that she wants to meet with the readiness assessment panel and that she needs to study the thousands of pages of submissions that are available on the ministry's website. Ms. Know-it-all is taking the attitude that she honed while in opposition and as Minister of Education into her new ministry, one that requires less confrontation and more stability.

As a result of the financial escapades of Doug Walls, a lot of attention has been focused on the uncertainty that has been created for people with developmental disabilities (formerly called mentally retarded) and their families. Many of those people who depend on the government for support also have the help of families who act as strong advocates. The scheme developed by Walls and Hogg, and approved by the Premier's office prior to the conclusion of the core review, is called "individualized funding" (IF). In simple terms, the idea is to give money to the family and let them look after the disadvantaged member of their family. The promise of savings of 20% no doubt helped sell the IF model. Many families might benefit from IF, but in a group of over 9,000 families there are probably people who would take the money and lock the disadvantaged client in the basement. Whenever people cannot defend themselves, be it the elderly or the disabled, there is the danger that others could take advantage of them. There are also well meaning families who simply don't have the ability to look after someone with developmental disabilities. One model, IF or anything else, doesn't fit all. As the new Minister, Clark should reveal how much of the projected $70 million or more in "savings" for 2004-05 depends on encouraging or forcing families to accept the IF model.

Community living is not the only part of the Ministry of Children and Family Development that is in chaos. There are 10 other interim authorities that are being set up in order to take responsibility for child welfare. The Ministry admits that they are not as ready as the Interim Authority for Community Living (IA) to take full responsibility for clients and budgets, and recent events have shown that IA is definitely not ready. Under Hogg, investigations of child abuse declined by 20%. He defended the reduction with claims that it showed less service was necessary. Even if it were true that preventive services were increasing, it would not follow that the need for investigations would decrease. Under Hogg, line level child protection workers were laid off, the people who do the investigations. It looks like the cuts were related to the announcement about budget cuts that was made on Black Thursday, January 17, 2002, before the need for child protection was determined. That's when government announced that the ministry's budget would be cut by $361 million by 2004-05 (24%). The depth of the cuts has since been reduced to 11% but the consequences remain devastating.

When the BC Liberals were in opposition they aggressively attacked every Minister of Children and Family Development over highly publicized deaths of children known to or in care of the Ministry. That created the impression that the Ministry was in chaos although the number of deaths of children in care declined throughout the 90's. The decline ended in 2003. The Ministry hasn't released the number of deaths for the full year yet but as of September, 9 children-in-care had died compared to 7 for all of 2002. Challenges on the child protection side of the Ministry are even greater than the problems in Community Living - the difference is that the government has fired the Children's Commissioner and the Child and Youth Advocate while imposing gag legislation that silences other potential advocates.

On June 1, 1999, Christy Clark rose in the legislature and said:

"If the minister would start listening, she'd hear what the child advocate has to say. That's that it's time to stop studying, it's time to stop reorganizing, it's time to stop adding bureaucrats, and it's time to act to start protecting children in British Columbia. The child advocate points to 14 reports and over 1,000 recommendations -- and still this ministry is in chaos. When will this minister recognize that it is time to stop wasting money on endless administration and endless reorganization, get her priorities straight and start protecting children?"

As Minister of Children and Family Development, Clark should look at that statement every day and stop the endless reorganization and chaos that the Campbell government has delivered for children and families. Most importantly, she should "get her priorities straight and start protecting children."